Thunderstruck
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Thunderstruck
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Narrated by:
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Bob Balaban
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Written by:
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Erik Larson
About this listen
Set in Edwardian London and on the stormy coasts of Cornwall, Cape Cod, and Nova Scotia, Thunderstruck evokes the dynamism of those years when great shipping companies competed to build the biggest, fastest ocean liners; scientific advances dazzled the public with visions of a world transformed; and the rich outdid one another with ostentatious displays of wealth. Against this background, Marconi races against incredible odds and relentless skepticism to perfect his invention: the wireless, a prime catalyst for the emergence of the world we know today. Meanwhile, Crippen, "the kindest of men", nearly commits the perfect crime.
With his superb narrative skills, Erik Larson guides these parallel narratives toward a relentlessly suspenseful meeting on the waters of the North Atlantic. Along the way, he tells of a sad and tragic love affair that was described on the front pages of newspapers around the world, a chief inspector who found himself strangely sympathetic to the killer and his lover, and a driven and compelling inventor who transformed the way we communicate.
Thunderstruck presents a vibrant portrait of an era of séances, science, and fog, inhabited by inventors, magicians, and Scotland Yard detectives, all presided over by the amiable and fun-loving Edward VII as the world slid inevitably toward the first great war of the 20th century.
Gripping from the start, and rich with fascinating detail about the time, the people, and the new inventions that connect and divide us, Thunderstruck is splendid narrative history from a master of the form.
©2006 Erik Larson (P)2006 Random House, Inc.You may also enjoy...
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In the Garden of Beasts
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- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Story4 out of 5 stars 75
The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany,” she has one affair after another....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it
- By Tracey L. on 2023-05-15
Written by: Erik Larson
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Isaac's Storm
- A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
At the dawn of the 20th century, a great confidence suffused America. Isaac Cline was one of the era's new men, a scientist who believed he knew all there was to know about the motion of clouds and the behavior of storms. The idea that a hurricane could damage the city of Galveston, Texas, where he was based, was to him preposterous, "an absurd delusion." It was 1900, a year when America felt bigger and stronger than ever before. Nothing in nature could hobble the gleaming city of Galveston, then a magical place that seemed destined to become the New York of the Gulf.
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5 out of 5 stars
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One of the best
- By Tim Mabey on 2023-01-15
Written by: Erik Larson
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Dead Wake
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- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 82
On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
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5 out of 5 stars
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This is a great book
- By Barbara on 2018-09-13
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The Devil in the White City
- Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 257
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 216
Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Dry non-fiction
- By Tee on 2017-10-12
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The Demon of Unrest
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- Narrated by: Will Patton, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 15
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Excruciatingly tedious and dull
- By CT on 2024-10-11
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The Splendid and the Vile
- A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: John Lee, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 360
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 307
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 307
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally - and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless."
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5 out of 5 stars
-
I never write reviews.....
- By Lisa Slater on 2020-05-08
Written by: Erik Larson
-
In the Garden of Beasts
- Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 75
The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America’s first ambassador to Hitler’s Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history. A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the “New Germany,” she has one affair after another....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Loved it
- By Tracey L. on 2023-05-15
Written by: Erik Larson
-
Isaac's Storm
- A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Richard Davidson
- Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 13
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10
At the dawn of the 20th century, a great confidence suffused America. Isaac Cline was one of the era's new men, a scientist who believed he knew all there was to know about the motion of clouds and the behavior of storms. The idea that a hurricane could damage the city of Galveston, Texas, where he was based, was to him preposterous, "an absurd delusion." It was 1900, a year when America felt bigger and stronger than ever before. Nothing in nature could hobble the gleaming city of Galveston, then a magical place that seemed destined to become the New York of the Gulf.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the best
- By Tim Mabey on 2023-01-15
Written by: Erik Larson
-
Dead Wake
- The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 82
On May 1, 1915, with WWI entering its tenth month, a luxury ocean liner as richly appointed as an English country house sailed out of New York, bound for Liverpool, carrying a record number of children and infants. The passengers were surprisingly at ease, even though Germany had declared the seas around Britain to be a war zone. For months, German U-boats had brought terror to the North Atlantic.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is a great book
- By Barbara on 2018-09-13
Written by: Erik Larson
-
The Devil in the White City
- Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 216
Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Dry non-fiction
- By Tee on 2017-10-12
Written by: Erik Larson
-
The Demon of Unrest
- A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: Will Patton, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 17
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 15
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 15
On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Excruciatingly tedious and dull
- By CT on 2024-10-11
Written by: Erik Larson
-
The Splendid and the Vile
- A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
- Written by: Erik Larson
- Narrated by: John Lee, Erik Larson
- Length: 17 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 360
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 307
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 307
On Winston Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen, and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to hold his country together and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally - and willing to fight to the end. In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows how Churchill taught the British people "the art of being fearless."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
I never write reviews.....
- By Lisa Slater on 2020-05-08
Written by: Erik Larson
What the critics say
"Larson has a knack for creating genuine suspense in his writing, and his latest is thoroughly enthralling." (Booklist)
"Splendid, beautifully written.... Thunderstruck triumphantly resurrects the spirit of another age." (Publishers Weekly)
What listeners say about Thunderstruck
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jean-Claude Cloutier
- 2024-03-19
Riveting!
Once again Larson succeeds in writing a truly remarkable book of historical facts and turning it into a great novel. His research is a testament to his extraordinary commitment to write accurately about his protagonists and the verified story he guides us through.
Entertaining,educational and informative while still keeping us turning page after page of a suspenseful drama.
Absolutely brilliant!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LK
- 2022-11-27
Thunderstruck
The title of this novel is somewhat deceiving as much more happens than lightning strikes. The murder story is as captivating as is Marconi’s endless search for an understanding of the elusive airwaves referred to as wireless communication. Being uneducated Marconi depended on other educated physicists and engineers to make adjustments to the apparatus settings. He was unfortunately ill suited for the discussions required to facilitate collaboration. He was young with no one to guide him through the mazes surrounding scientific experiments.
The story of the discovery of wireless communication is intriguing. As a Canadian the history of Marconi’s attempt to setup a network on the harsh North coast of Nova Scotia reminds me of early trips to that area seeing a sign indicating the area where he and a colleague hung onto balloons as a wicked storm raged.
Congratulations to both the author and the narrator of this masterpiece.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Heather
- 2022-05-30
Larson's weakest, made weaker by poor narration
I've read all of Larson's works and this one is unfortunately my least favourite. The story suffers from poor pacing, in which the seemingly disparate storylines are not united until the final act, and Balaban's narration does not help to build interest or suspense. His cadence is stilted and inflects certain lines as though they were questions when they are not, and his bland reading does little to draw attention to Larson's clues and foreshadowing that would have made it a more engaging listen. If you are new to Larson's work, don't start with this audiobook.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Roberta W
- 2022-12-01
Great mix
What a creative way to weave together three stories. Exceptionally well done. Lots of suspense!
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